St. Elmo’s Fire director Joel Schumacher dead at 80 after battle with cancer
JOEL Schumacher has died at the age of 80. The acclaimed film director of such hit movies such as The Lost Boys and Batman Forever passed away on Monday morning in New York City after battling cancer for the past year. Some of Schumacher’s film credits included St Elmo’s Fire, Flatliners, The Client, Flawless, Phone […]
JOEL Schumacher has died at the age of 80.
The acclaimed film director of such hit movies such as The Lost Boys and Batman Forever passed away on Monday morning in New York City after battling cancer for the past year.
Some of Schumacher’s film credits included St Elmo’s Fire, Flatliners, The Client, Flawless, Phone Booth and Trespass.
He most recently directed two episodes of Netflix’s House of Cards in 2013.
Schumacher joined the film industry in the 1970s as a costume designer after graduating from the Fashion Institute of Technology in New York.
He entered the film industry first as costume designer and worked on two of Woody Allen’s film before trying his hand at filmmaking.
Schumacher made his directorial debut with the 1974 TV movie Virginia Hill.
Film critics described Schumacher as having one of the most diverse directing titles in Hollywood.
Wrote Film Crit Hulk on Twitter: “Joel Schumacher has one of the most interesting catalogues of any director: 80’s genre staples, ostentatious cartoony studio fare, gritty blips, dysfunctional dips, and little gems like Tigerland.
“He even did Phantom. He was also courageous and openly out for most of his career.”
Reception to many of Schumacher’s films was often divided, including his time at the helm of Batman films, Batman Forever and Batman & Robin.
His adaptation of Andrew Lloyd Weber’s musical, Phantom of the Opera, earned three Academy Award nominations and grossed $154.6 million at the box office worldwide.
Credited with launching of the careers of Hollywood heavyweights as Kiefer Sutherland, Matthew McConaughey and Colin Farrell, a number of actors who worked with him, rushed to pay tribute to Schumacher.
The Lost Boys actor Alex Winter took to Twitter to memorialize the director.
He wrote: “Joel was a creative genius; a master at clothing design, costuming, writing and of course directing.
“Joel saw something in me as an actor I didn’t see and gave me the confidence and space to pursue it.
“Unfairly savaged by critics his entire career, his great work will live on.”
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Born in Queens in 1939, both his parents died young, which he admitted led him to living a wild life.
He said in a 1999 interview with Venice: “By the time I was seven, I was really out on the streets.
“I’ve really done everything wrong that a human being can possibly do, except murder someone, thank God.
“Fast lane, drugs, you know. I’m a survivor of the ’60s who stayed way too long at the party.”